Continuous Integration
A discipline where team members frequently combine their individual work into a shared baseline and verify that the integrated result works correctly with everything else.
Key Points
- Changes are integrated into a common repository many times per day or at least daily.
- Automated builds and tests validate each integration to catch defects quickly.
- Small, incremental commits reduce merge conflicts and simplify troubleshooting.
- Requires version control, clear branching strategy, and fast feedback to the team.
Example
A product team commits updates in small slices. Every commit triggers an automated build and test run on the CI server. When a test fails, the team swarms to fix the issue before adding new work, keeping the main branch in a releasable state.
PMP Example Question
Which practice helps an agile team find integration problems early by frequently combining individual contributions and automatically verifying them?
- Continuous Integration
- Rolling Wave Planning
- Integrated Change Control
- Configuration Management Plan
Correct Answer: A — Continuous integration of frequent changes with automated checks
Explanation: Continuous Integration merges work often and runs automated validation, enabling fast discovery and correction of integration issues.
